Mannion, Beavers overwhelm Aztecs

There were times on Saturday night when San Diego State’s defenders looked like they started a play with track spikes, and once they had breached Oregon State’s line, they were running in slippers on wet ice.

Or was it just that Sean Mannion has eyes peering through the ear holes of his helmet?

Too often the Aztecs blitzed and rushed one of the country’s greatest passers, only to have him slip away and come up with a monstrous completion.

Between that, some poor tackling of the Beavers’ elusive backs, critical penalties and very little success with their own passing game, the Aztecs failed to put up much of a fight in losing to OSU 28-7 in front of 41,339 at Reser Stadium.

Unlike last year in San Diego, when the Beavers (3-0) needed 20 points the fourth quarter to avoid an upset, this one felt like it was all over by late in the third quarter, with Mannion and his runners plotting their way to a 21-point lead.

They play a chainsaw sound effect in these parts at junctures in the game. This was the Beavers chewing mostly on balsa wood.

The Aztecs (1-2), who open the Mountain West season next Saturday by hosting UNLV, had reason to be disconsolate after their last-minute defeat at North Carolina two weeks ago. This one likely produced just plain disgust, it being the Aztecs’ 25th loss in the last 26 games against Power-5 conference teams.

After some initial defensive flurries and a couple of sacks, Mannion figured out the defense and ended up with a stellar passer rating of 143.9, throwing only an interception in fourth-quarter garbage time. Mannion finished 23 of 30 for 275 yards.

SDSU quarterback Quinn Kaehler had a rough night. Often under duress when he dropped back, the senior was 14 of 26 for only 106 yards and threw two more interceptions to bring his season total to six. Also, on his last interception in the fourth quarter, Kaehler got drilled and limped as he left the field, though Aztecs coach Rocky Long said he was not aware of any significant injury.

“You can’t win in today’s college football if you only score seven points,” Long said. “I thought our offense, other than the first drive of the game, was average to poor.

“I thought the defense played fairly well until right before halftime and right after halftime. You could see the character of our kids because they didn’t give up. But we weren’t doing anything on offense.”

The Aztecs had only 215 yards in offense, and Long judged that to be the result of how much pressure Kaehler faced. He was sacked three times and had to throw the ball away on a number of occasions.

“I would say their defensive line played extremely well and our offensive line played absolutely horrible,” Long said.

Mannion, meantime, withstood SDSU’s pressure as the 6-foot-5 top NFL prospect showed great pocket presence.

Long cited as a “pivotal” play in the game a third-and-8 play in the third quarter. Mannion shook of a possible sack and completed a 27-yard pass that kept alive an eventual touchdown drive that gave the Beavers a two-touchdown lead.

“There’s still a chance we can stay in the game right there,” Long said. “You can look at it one way or the other. Our guy missed the tackle and he should’ve sacked him, or what a great quarterback because he shook the tackle and made a good throw.”

The Beavers led 14-7 at halftime, and it was two big pass plays on OSU’s part and mistakes by the Aztecs the helped provide the margin.

Though SDSU took a 7-0 lead on its first drive, it twice moved into OSU territory without getting any points, while the Beavers went 2-for-2 when reaching the Aztecs’ half of the field.

OSU gave the Aztecs a good chance to take a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter when Victor Bolden muffed a punt that was recovered by Pierre Romine at the Beavers’ 38-yard line.

Only three plays later, Kaehler threw his fifth interception of the season when Steven Nelson stepped in front of a sideline pass intended for Larry Clark.

The pick carried the bad taste of déjà vu for the Aztecs. It was Nelson who also intercepted Kaehler in the fourth quarter in last September’s meeting and returned it 16 yards for the touchdown for the deciding score in SDSU’s four-point loss.

In the second quarter, SDSU put together a drive that reached the OSU 34, but two delay-of-game penalties and 9-yard sack of Kaehler halted the Aztecs’ chance.

As SDSU did last year, it put significant pressure on Mannion early, but other than linebacker Cody Galea forcing a fumble by the QB that Beavers recovered, the prolific passer managed to throw a couple of game-changing passes.

In the first quarter, when OSU faced a second-and-27 after linebacker Fred Melifonwu’s sack, Mannion looped a pass over Aztecs safety Malik Smith that Hunter Jarmon caught for a 32-yard gain. Then corner Damontae Kazee was flagged for pass interference, and Terron Ward ran around the right end for a 12-yard TD that tied it at 7.

Mannion’s second big pass was a beauty at the end of the half. On first-and-15 at his own 49, he lofted a throw to the post that Rahmel Dockery, replacing the injured Bolden, pulled in for a 49-yard gain to the SDSU 2. The Beavers scored on the next play with 27 seconds left in the half.

In their first possession, the Aztecs seemed to send a message that they weren’t going to play conservatively when, on the opening play, Lloyd Mills took a toss on a reverse and raced 36 yards down the left sideline to the OSU 34.

On the very next play, offensive coordinator Bob Toledo called a flea flicker, with Eric Judge streaking down the middle and beating two defenders, but Kaeler overthrew him.

Pumphrey ran four straight times for 27 yards, but the Aztecs still faced a third-and-4 on the OSU 7, and that’s the territory where Kaehler threw two interceptions against North Carolina. This time, the QB threw low to Mills at the OSU 2, and Pumphrey scored on the next play.